Ugwuanyi’s Enduring Bridge Across Culture and Religion

With the bridges he built across different cultures, tribes, social classes and religions, which earned Enugu the status of the most peaceful state in the South-east geo-political zone, former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is no doubt one of the most respected former governors in the country. Adedayo Akinwale reports

Former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State wrote his name in gold with his ability to mobilise various political, religious, and cultural interests in the state in particular and the country in general, to maintain an unprecedented peace during his glorious eight-year tenure from May 29, 2015 to May 29, 2023.

Having served the people of his constituency for 12 years in the House of Representatives and acquired a wealth of experience in national politics more than any other previous governor in the South-east, Ugwuanyi was able to galvanise all the relevant stakeholders into action to make Enugu State the most peaceful state in the South-east geopolitical zone during his eight-year tenure.

Ugwuanyi governed the state not only at a turbulent period when the South-east had the most serious security challenges but also at a time when the plummeting crude oil prices grounded governance in nearly all the states.

It was during Ugwuanyi’s tenure that the price of Nigeria’s Brent crude oil fell to $9.12 per barrel in April 2020, the lowest in decades, while the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also traded at negative prices for the first time since trading began in 1983.

Before Ugwuanyi assumed office, previous governors had enjoyed huge statutory allocations from oil windfall as the price of the global benchmark, Brent crude oil, which slumped below $10 per barrel during Ugwuanyi’s tenure, had at a point hit an all-time high of $147.27 per barrel in July 2008.

Despite the predicament in which he found himself, Ugwuanyi remained undaunted and never sounded like a broken record like some of his colleagues who spent eight years on blame game and left not only a legacy of dilapidated infrastructures, accumulated debts and refuse dumps, but also allowed their states to be overrun by non-state actors on killing spree.

With his enormous wealth of experience in national politics, which enabled him to build bridges and wide contacts, coupled with his professional background, Ugwuanyi was able to successfully navigate through these security and financial challenges.

Gburugburu, as he is fondly called, not only provided the dividends of democracy for the people of the state but also maintained a peaceful environment for investments and good governance to thrive.

Unlike most of his predecessors who wasted the apparatus and resources of the state in fighting their predecessors and creating unnecessary political tension, Ugwuanyi established a culture of harmonious relationship with all the political leaders in the state.

When some of the governors in the South-east created the Ebubeagu security outfit, and were using it as personal militias to hound their political opponents, Ugwuanyi created and fully equipped the Neighbourhood Watch, Forest Guards, and other local security outfits to complement the efforts of security agencies in securing the state.

His administration was known to have purchased 360 security patrol vehicles made up of 260 Siena vehicles and 100 Hilux vans, for the security agencies, vigilance groups and forest guards in the state.

Ugwuanyi also bought additional 260 vehicles, as well as motorcycles and bicycles for the Forest Guards and Vigilante/Neighborhood Watch groups for community policing.

With his efforts, Enugu State was the least affected among the five states in the South-east by the activities of the unknown gunmen that ravaged the geo-political zone.

Under his administration, Enugu provided comfort for the indigenes of the neighbouring states, who fled their states due to insecurity.

It is on record that Ugwuanyi won numerous accolades for his efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.

Prominent among these awards was the national award as the ‘Most Peaceful Governor in Nigeria’ by the Messengers of Peace Foundation, conferred on him in 2021 by the National President of the foundation, Dr. Sulaiman Adejoh, for his zeal, steadfastness and untiring efforts in ensuring that “there is calmness in Enugu State and Nigeria by extension”.

Ugwuanyi had earlier been honoured with the ‘Peace Ambassador Award’ during the International Peace Day on September 21, 2020 alongside other Nigerian leaders.

He also received commendations from prominent Nigerians across the country.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, was one of the prominent traditional rulers who identified Ugwuanyi’s sterling qualities in the early life of his administration.

Addressing Muslims when he visited the state in December 2016, the revered monarch had noted that: “The governor is popular among the indigenes and even non-indigenes,” noting that “this is commendable.”

“I’m excited that 95 per cent of Muslims in Enugu State support Governor Ugwuanyi and what he is doing to promote peace, security and good governance,” the Sultan reportedly added.

Also speaking in December 2022 during the unveiling of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Centre – the former Enugu residence of Dr. Azikiwe known as old Premier Lodge, which was renovated, furnished and decorated with personal effects and other monuments of the great Zik of Africa by the Ugwuanyi’s administration, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe applauded Ugwuanyi for “his zeal and steadfastness in ensuring that the legacy of Nnamdi Azikiwe is not swept under the carpet,” adding that posterity will always remember the governor for the gesture.

He said Ugwuanyi’s commitment towards upholding Zik’s legacy was uncommon, “particularly in Nigeria where we easily forget our leaders, forgetting their efforts, their sufferings and what they denied themselves.”

On her part, Zik’s wife, Prof. Uche Azikiwe, stated that the family of the late Azikiwe would never forget Ugwuanyi, revealing that the governor’s humility was unprecedented.

Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunlusi, Ojaja II, had also extolled Ugwuanyi’s leadership qualities, describing him as a “wonderful” leader whose hospitality was second to none.

The highly respected monarch spoke in June 2020 through his delegation led by Princess Fadekemi Fadojutimi, who represented him at the Government House, Enugu, to deliver four modular motorised fumigators donated by the monarch to the Enugu State government, as part of his contributions to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

With the culture of peace he established in the state, Ugwuanyi enjoyed the enormous respect of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), which had a running battle with most of the other governors in southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt due to the insecurity across the states.

It was not surprising that less than two weeks before Ugwuanyi handed over to his successor on May 29, the members of MACBAN gathered in his honour at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Enugu Press Centre where they lauded him for his firm belief in the unity of Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the South-east Leader of MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, said their members enjoyed a robust relationship with the people of Enugu State in the last eight years, courtesy of Ugwuanyi’s style of leadership.

According to him, the gathering was to appreciate Ugwuanyi’s “glaring demonstration of pan Nigerian spirit while he superintended over the affairs of Enugu State. Our encounter and interactions with him all this time largely exposed his humaneness and his ‘live and let live’ disposition to life.”

Siddiki stated that Ugwuanyi “truly acknowledges Nigeria as one united entity where citizens are at liberty to live and earn their livelihood wherever they choose, insofar as they are legitimately engaged.”

On his part, the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Anglican Communion, Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, had also once described Ugwuanyi as the friendliest governor who remained committed to the welfare of the people, in spite of the economic challenges in the country.

“The governor has been so friendly, so good and takes everything so easy and shows concern for people’s affairs. I have never seen any governor that is as friendly as this governor. That is how to govern because our Lord Jesus Christ lowered Himself for him to be exalted”, Archbishop Chukwuma reportedly said.

In terms of delivering the dividends of democracy, Ugwuanyi paid the N30,000 minimum wage with its consequential adjustment and ensured regular payment of salaries and retirees’ pensions, among other welfare packages.

He also embarked on massive construction and development of infrastructural facilities in the three senatorial zones in the state.

The people of the state also enjoyed Ugwuanyi’s peaceful nature when he refused to use the apparatus of the state to truncate their will in the 2023 general election. His peaceful mien, which prevented loss of innocent lives during the elections did not go down well with some do-or-die politicians in the state.

For Ugwuanyi, the future is brighter as many stakeholders across the various political, ethnic and religious divides in the country believe that he still has a lot to offer for national development.